-->*OFFICIAL: Dell XPS M1730 Owner's Lounge*<--

ouch. that sucks big time.

can you list your system specs.

Also, you might want to try disabling hibernate, user access control, the firewall, and other non-essentials, such as windows defender, search indexing, etc. in case there is some hangup due to all that jazz.

Plus, do you have any background application processes running, such as anti-spyware, norton, etc?

If worse comes to worst, try reformatting and reinstalling vista...

Hope you get that sorted out man.

 

Well,

Got it "settled" today....

Dell is supposed to be sending me a replacement for my "brand new 1730" I just got.

1) Screen leaks light like CRAZY.... (You could use it for a night light when it's in "screen save mode".... LOL)
2) Blu-ray player does not play ANY Blu-ray movies, including even those one produced BEFORE the "changes to the new ones"
3) MULTIPLE lockups in virtually EVERY program almost every time I tried to use them
4) HECK, so much more I can't even remember all of them... but of course I've only had the thing a week (the problems ALL started RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX)

But at least Dell was VERY helpful and offered me a replacement immediately...

I asked them if I was "going to get a NEW computer, or one someone else had already sent back because of [problems]" and was promised a NEW one....

I hope so....

And so I wait....

 

Sigh.

It's just the M1730 with 1 7200 RPM Drive, 2 Gigs RAM, 2.4 Ghz Proc.

I will try getting rid of Defender and UAC, but the drivers DO install. That is what I don't understand.

How can the drivers install but the card not work on reload?

THe fact that the September drivers work means that something is working properly.

Can ANYONE tell me what to do? Pulling my hair out. DELL was totally unhelpful.

 

Hello again!

You should find that 169.04 and 163.75 and 163.69 (each with the modded inf) all work ok, no blank screen. 169.04 will still lock and crash the Cpanel when enabling SLI, but upon rebooting, it should still be enabled.

With the other two (163.75 and 69), there is just a very long pause after the "some applications need to be shut down to enable SLI blah blah blah" message, but then, it does eventually promt you to reboot your system and once again, upon restarting, SLI will have been enabled correctly. Just be patient during the pause and don't assume it's crashed.

I have no idea what the problem is with 169.09 and 169.12 on certain systems, I read today that they are even causing similar issues on non-dell machines http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion/index.php?t51200.html so it seems to be a very significant flaw.

If I had to take a guess, it's a display (monitor) related bug, and as far as 1730s go, it would seem that everyone with the Samsung panel has the issue, and everyone with the LG does not.

-EDIT - Apologies, just looked at my hardware ID and it would appear I have SHP13D9 (The later Sharp model), so perhaps it's the systems with these that have this issue and not the Samsungs or LGs.

 

Honestly Franklins, the problem is the COntrol Panel shuts down and upon cold boot I get a blank screen.

It really doesn't allow me to go beyond the camera blue light before the system just stops and I get no video.

I get no reboot message for SLI by the way because the COntrol Panel crashes.

 

Did you try any of those other three drivers mentioned above? As stated, I'm pretty sure they'd all eliminate this particular issue, they do for me. It's not satisfactory I know, but for the moment it seems like the only workable solution. Unless you want to start up only using battery power and then switching on at the mains once vista has loaded as that is the only way to get past the blank screen with 169.09 and 169.12.

 

Since I do not know Vista yet I have to ask... Is "Enable Boot Logging" avaliable? This should tell where it is failing (at least that is how I troubleshot drivers in XP). Also is a DMP file being created?

 

Well, add another one to the refurb pile. I just received the RMA info in my inbox today so I'll be boxing the M1730 up and sending it out tomorrow.

I really had high hopes for this laptop but after spending the past 3 weeks fighting with this SLI configuration I've come to the conclusion that unless we either see an upgrade to 512mb per GPU and/or and upgrade to the 8800M this video setup will never live up to its hefty pricetag.

During my discussion with Customer Care this morning I was very explicit about what is wrong with the current 8700M SLI configuration. They spent no less than 45 minutes sifting through internal tech bulletins trying to find out if there were any "video card upgrades" in the works for existing M1730 owners. The answer unfortunately was "no". There are no plans for an video upgrade for the M1730 in the foreseeable future.

I'll either bide my time and wait for the new Alienware with the 8800M GPUs or move on to a desktop. Since I'm now a month behind where I should be I'll likely follow the latter and start spec'ing a desktop to build over the next few weeks.

For those that are sticking by the M1730 I wish you the best of luck and hopes that you'll see some resolution either in the way of drivers or hardware fixes.

 

We keep getting conflicting 'answers' about the upgrade to the 8800 gpus, It is very likely Dell will offer these but if they are made available to the 1730 owners is another question all together, but I am sure they are not going to release another upgrade in the XPS notebook lineup for an upgrade in the graphics card, so we can be fairly confident that if dell is going to release the 8800 gpus they will put them into their flagship model, the 1730 and hopefully we will be able to have the option of upgrading to them

 

Just got a message "Dell Automated PC TuneUp expired. Click this link to purchase." WTF?!

This was Dell bloatware that was pre-installed so why would this happen. Do they install trail versions or only give you a 4 week subscription or something?

Has anyone else run into this issue or do you just uninstall this crap when you get your notebook?

 

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/en/pc_tuneup?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=3

 

I had simmilar issues with Alienware(the bastards) .... so here is what you do.

Cold start and when u lose ur feed... try pressing ctrl + alt + Del. Worked for me. You might have to do this everytime you restart. Luckily i returned alienware and bought m1730. Its is awesom. I got the good screen so no probs. And I can run the 169.09 drivers without a problem. I still don't like the way GRAW 2 lags. i think my Physx is'nt working to full potential.

Any way... try the Ctrl + alt + del

 

umm guys... Fraps is lagging at 25 fps... crap... I think it is drivers. It worked fine when i had the september version.

 

Well I could really use your help gang getting two things.

1. A modded inf for the 169.04 (since laptopvideo2go is still down). My email is [email protected]

2. Where to download the 169.04 driver that I can insert the modded inf into.

If someone could help me out here I would be eternally greatful.

I cannot make any drivers work at the moment other than the reference and I have the same problems as Franklins.

Thank you very much for all of your wonderful help.

 

I wiped my machine as soon as I got it and made it dual boot XP and Vista so I could compare.

Im using the 169.09 on both Vista and XP - i downloaded two different versions from laptopvideotogo (one for each OS).

I used Driver Cleaner Pro afteruninstalling the drivers. In Driver Cleaner Pro I selected "nvidia" and then clicked clean - it removed everything. Im not sure if this different method will help as apposed to the sweeper tool you guys are using, but if you're in this much of a state - it couldnt hurt to try it maybe...

I then rebooted, and installed the new driver 196.09.

I've had no BSODs, no problems, and a large increase in performance. For me these drivers have also cured nasty refresh lines in CS Source. I have high hopes for this machine providing Dell come out with the 8800M GTX for it. Just a shame that the memory speed is a bit slow...

if you want 169.09 uninformed - give me a shout - i'll upload it for you with the inf.

EDIT - I have the sharp panel and am running 169.09

 

So it is! As if we needed anything more.

I'll see what I can do. It would be good for you to try 169.04 or perhaps 163.75 just to establish we're dealing with identical issues. Then perhaps we can consider a clean install and/or using driver cleaner pro as suggested.

Regarding the panels, it was only a theory based on they're being the only apparent discrepancy between our vaious configs. They may of course have nothing to do with it.

 

Blinder, I have the Samsung panel. I cannot load 169.09, but I may be able to load 169.04 if someone can mail me the inf and show me where I can dl the driver to put the new inf into.

My email is [email protected]

Driver Cleaner Pro is not Vista compat is it? I see the net version requires you to pay for it.

 

it worked fine for me on both XP Pro SP2 and Vista Ultimate 32- and no i didnt pay for it - just downloaded it from guru 3d

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

 

Interesting Development.

I just noticed after my Control Panel freeze trying to load in the 167.45 that the two boards had this message:

Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory. (Code 38)

You need to restart your computer before the changes you made to this device will take effect.

I did everythign I was supposed to however, including running Driver Cleaner Pro.

How could the existing driver be in memory? Makes no sense. THey were both removed and uninstalled first. THe message came up after the driver installation.

In any event, if someone can get me the modded inf for 169.04 and show me where to download drivers that I could add the inf to I would be greatful.

[email protected]

 

Yeah i DEFINITELY Notice a HUGE speed Down-step when unplugging my machine,

I have disabled all power saving features etc.

A dell tech told me to disable Speedstep, Which i have seen in the Bios, But the setting implies that the system will run more slowly with it disabled.

Huge lag in CSS when unplugging/replugging the system, Runs at only 1/2 speed when left unplugged.

Also ALOT of Screen flicker when unplugging and Re-plugging, (motherboard replacement on order) And whenever the AC adapter isnt all the way plugged in the (by 1 mm) Battery meter freaks out, Screen flicker etc. VERY unstable feeling in regards to the power adapter. Everything seems to flicker when plugging it in/out

 

I love the fact that Dell cannot help me install the drivers they put on their own website.

I suspect this M1730 is not long for my desk at this point.

 

Hello,

Well, unfortunately I don't have access to any drivers or infs at present either (save for 169.09, which is no good to us), as I recently did an image restore and deleted all my previously downloaded files! I had no idea that the only site on the entire internet capabale of providing us with drivers with no serious issues would spontaneously go offline!!

So, unless anyone else has a link, I suppose we'll just have to wait until its' back up.

In the meantime, going back a few pages, I noticed this link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105

I don't know about your "code 38" thing, but perhaps that is related to the patch in question.

It also might help to resolve the freezing control panel when enabling SLI (with later drivers).

 

Yeah, what's up with laptopvideo2go.com being down? I've been checking back like every hour since yesterday afternoon, and they're still not online yet.

I hope they haven't run into serious problems, because they're THE source for this kind of stuff.

 

get the Mobileforce tweaked version of 169.09 (performance enhanced)

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=2789493

or get other drivers

http://www.notebookforums.com/forum304.html

 

We want the 169.04s, not 09s, and both the links on that site appear to be down aswell, I checked earlier.

 

Works fine for me

 

Which thread are you going to? I can only see 2 for the 169.04s and at the top of each it says neither the direct or mirror links is available.

 

Check this thread out, INFs are posted.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=52555&hl=8700m

 

Both of Zergworlds links...

 

Ok. So let me tell you where I am.

The MBF 169.04 drivers WORKED.

Sadly, I cannot get 3d Mark 06 to complete a test using the new drivers. I hang on the CPU Test 2. (That didnt happen using the September 07 Dell Drivers).

ANyone know how I might get through the blockage? It just hangs on that test.

 

So where would I go to just get the 169.04 drivers from Nvidia that I could simply extract the inf into?

THe last time I obtained Nvidia drivers it did more than extract. It actually tried to load them.

Can someone walk me through? I want to see if the MBF driver is holding up my 3d Mark.

 

Hello!


This issue was discussed at length a few pages back. As far as I know, there is no driver that is completely stable with 3dmark06 (well, for me there isn't) some are slightly more stable than others but when lockups do occur, they're nearly always at the exact point you describe - not even the originally shipped one's work - you were just lucky it didn't freeze on that occasion.

However, there seem to be 2 workarounds.

1) right click anywhere onthe desktop, select personalize, select "theme" and from the drop down menu, select "windows classic" then click apply.

2) If you'd prefer to keep the vista theme, then the other solution is to use version 1.0.2 of 3dmark instead of 1.1.0. You'll get a black border around the splash screen as you fire it up (known bug with 1.0.2) but then you can continue benching as normal .

If you do either of the above (don't have to do both), the lockups should cease.

 

Looks like not all the NBF drivers are available right now. Maybe they've been removed.

This location has the ones that are currently available (as of 11:31 AM PST)

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread206047.html

 

replying to my own post...

I see from GeForceTony:

 

I just got off the phone with a Very rude and Condescending dell rep who was kind enough to let me know:

"Sir, You shouldnt be un-plugging and plugging in your system when IT IS ON! All portables need to be powered down before you plug them in or unplug them."

Very long pause followed by an "excuse me?"

"Thats a standard for all portables sir, the system would need to reconfigure the power settings on the fly if you did it while it was plugged in, so hibernating or shutting down before you do that is what you should be doing."

Another long pause then "so your telling me when im on battery which lasts about 30 minutes, after those 30 minutes, i should be shutting down my system, and going to plug it in...."

yes sir

Okay so can you explain to me why every single m1730's preformance drops by 90% when you unplug it? And never recovers?

Vista power saving sett-

No ive alreday turned all of those off

A speed drop would be normal when unplugging the system without shutting down first

even if i start it up off of battery it still lags? Any explanations you wanna pull from your grab bag for that one?

sir if you want to trouble shoot your blue-screen issue i can help you with that

Supervisor, ill let you know what happens

 

I couldnt have put it better myself. That is very stupid. The performance shouldn't drop. Mine nearly always end up having to be restarted. I hate that. Ahh... by restart i mean run up stairs.. get my powercables.. unplug DVD player from Power... plug in m1730... push the power button and hope it doesn't die on me. I am really nervous when this happen. This thing wasn't cheap and if it dies... well... lets just leave it at that.

 

does the wireless N suck?

 

Okay, So after talking to a supervisor,

He has confirmed to me that you definitely DO NOT have to shut down the system to plug it in and unplug it.

I have been working on the speedstep/ UNplugging preformance issues with the latest (competent and very nice) rep.

What we have found out,

Turning off intel speedstep in the bios results in a constant 1.2ghz speed with no throttling. (should be 2.4)

The flicker when un-plugging and re-plugging the system has gotten better, but still is prevelent, Anyone else having this same problem should post any workarounds the have found.



Wireless N works great for me, Even G I actually notices a large Range jump from the m1710 to the m1730, I get signal in places i would usually have to hold my laptop up in the air to get a connection.

A motherboard replacement has been ordered for my system and ill let you guys know if it solved any of the issues I've been having.

Anyone else think its a bit crazy that they moved the service tag to under the battery? What sense does that make?

Anyone else getting screen flicker when plugging in and unplugging their system?

Can someone Re-post the Benchmark scores when Plugged in and when on battery? The tech seemed genuinely interested in that issue, but was having trouble finding that post in this 200+ page forum.

This rep could not find anything on the parts list mentioning an 8800 but im guessing that it wouldnt show up there until it was released.
He did mention that a single 8700 config was available to be ordered, which i found strange.


The blue-screen issues i was having were apparently caused by faulty vista drivers, We installed the new version of the Wireless N card driver. SO far no more blue-screens but They have been quite intermittent so i will keep you guys posted.

Anyone wanna share their BSOD error codes? Maybe get a list going to see if these Blue-screens are the same problems on all m1730s?

I'll post all error codes i get from now on here.

TO ANYONE Treated like they should have known to Shut down their system before plugging it in, Ask for a supervisor, Im getting quite tired of Reps That imply to almost all customers with Portables that there are Pre-requisites for owning a Portable (not a notebook) and we should have known not to, Put it on our laps, unplug and re-plug the machine while its on, or use it like Laptops are supposed to be used... on the go.

Every Supervisor i have spoken to Seems to immediately realize the possible headline of "Dell m1730 3000$ laptop Needs to be shut down to be plugged in"
And the following drop of m1730 sales to Non-existent.

My old m1710 Gave my legs an electric Jolt, When i originally called in they told me i shouldn't have been putting it on my lap. Needless to say supervisors i spoke to in that situation seemed to immediately realize the possible headline of " Dell m1710 Gaming Notebook Doubles as Taser" and immediately took my issue more seriously, And dropped the "you shouldnt have been putting it on your lap" approach very quickly.

I understand that the vents are on the bottom, and putting the m1730 on a bed, or couch that blocks those vents isnt a good idea, But there is a line, Anything that looks like a laptop is going to be used in such a way and dell reps should not expect people to know about such ridiculous limitations.

 

ALSO ANYONE WITH AN M1730

If you could Squeeze your Lid From the front and back IE sqeeze the wing towards the rim of the lcd.

MY LID CREAKS LIKE AN OLD WOODEN DOOR! I've Noticed this since day 1 and its geting quite annoying for such an expensive machine, 1 tech told me he thought it was because of overtightened L hinges, So he sent out a new screen, (im going to check on the new screen's brand and have the technician use the old screen if it is a samsung)

So if anyone that has an m1730 could press on their wings when its closed and squeeze the rims of their lid to see if it squeaks that would be great.

I hope the new hinges fix it because its awful.

Also i have my laptop skinned! So i hope the tech can use the same lid!

 

Do you guys honestly expect the system to run at full speed while on the battery? There is no way the battery can handle the system while gaming and the clock speeds on the GPUs drop as soon as you disconnect the power cable, a motherboard replacement wont fix the problem and why would you want to game on the battery anyway, you will get like 30 mins of battery and even less if the system is still running at full speed.

 

Hello All,
First off I'd would like to say that this lounge is the best information on the net on the M1730 and thank you all for the previous posted information. Now I would like to post my experience with my M1730. I had nothing but problems from the start when I received my first one back in the beggining of October.....freezing up/lock ups, game playing lag and off course the blue screen of death. Sadly to say after (2) M1730's replacements, I have finally given up and have recieved a return authorization for a refund and will be sending it back to Dell. I guess that I will stick with my M1710 for now until they get the bugs worked out with the 1730. I can STILL say that Dell is the best at customer support!
Again, thankyou all for the awesome posts and very helpful information and good luck to you on your M1730's!

 

@ Wogstaa, Yes, Or at least 70%. From what i see the performance drops alot more than what most would consider at all acceptable, and ALOT more than the m1710.

 

The M1710 doesn't have the same power consumption so its not a apples v apples argument. The M1710 has a 130W power adaptor and the M1730 has a 230W, you can't possibly expect this to perform the same.

 

Here is some hopefully good news for soon to come drivers:
http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppor...games&message.id=17054&query.id=204961#M17054

 

Hey Guys!!
Does anybody got news regarding the 8800m in the XPS 1730??? It would be really apreciate it, cause i have the chance to change my 1710 to a brand new 1730 and if lets say itsout by january i guess i could make Dell to hold the offer, thanks in advance

 

There's been no official announcement from Dell when the 8800M GTX will be offered. It highly likely that it will be offered though. (I'm hopeful they don't go half way and only offer the 8800M GTS)

Alienware have said that they'll be shipping the m-17x with Sli 8800M in Q1 2008. (Given that Dell own Alienware, Dell shouldn't be far behind ~ maybe a month or two max).

No word on price although the consensus in this forum is that it'll be around an extra €500 on the basic config M1730.

@ Anyone else:
1) Have you heard of any Sli Reviews for the 8800M?
2) Any new/better info other than what I've just posted?

 

Try to run the Windows Solitaire game in SLI mode.

Does your Vista crash also?

 

Mine works ok....

 

My Solitare Crashes yes, White screen, not responding. can someone Confirm that their lid Also Squeaks? Squeeze the sides of the lid togethor, tell me if it squeaks or creaks, I have a tech coming today to replace the Mobo, and the Screen apparently.


I'm Sorry i dont care if the Power adapter is 230W that just means they should have put in a larger battery, or 2 batteries, Remember the old dell inspirons? slide out the CD drive and slide in a battery? Dont tell me they couldnt get full performance out of that setup.

 

But compare the power of the hardware of the old inspirons to the hardware in the xps m1730, you cant have a battery that has a practical size for notebooks and can sustain 230W for a decent amount of time, unless you want a battery the size of a car battery, the 1730 isnt going to perform at 100% or close to it off a battery unless they make some serious changes to the design